US economic sanctions against Iran are back in effect

In this photo released by official website of the office of the Iranian Presidency, President Hassan Rouhani addresses the nation in a televised speech in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Aug. 6, 2018. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani struck a hard line Monday as the U.S. restored some sanctions that had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)

The first set of strict economic sanctions against Iran took effect midnight Tuesday and target transactions that involve U.S. dollars, as well as the country’s automotive sector, the purchase of commercial planes and metals including gold.

President Trump on Monday signed an executive order to restore some of the sanctions that were lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal during the Obama administration.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani responded Monday, “If someone has knife in the hand and seeks talks, he should first put the knife in his pocket.”

Rouhani said he has no pre-conditions for opening talks with the U.S. as long as the Islamic Republic gets paid back for decades of American “intervention in Iran.”

“If the U.S. government is ready to negotiate about paying compensation to the Iranian nation from 1953 until now,” Rouhani said. “The U.S owes the Iranian nation for its intervention in Iran.”

Rouhani appears to be referencing the CIA-backed mission to overthrow Iran’s elected prime minister to secure the shah’s rule in 1953, a similar sentiment touted by many of his predecessors.